


New Struggles

by FandomFluid



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Antisemitism, Homophobia, M/M, Rating May Change, World War II, this will end up getting dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-01-02 21:54:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 22,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomFluid/pseuds/FandomFluid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Based on Tumblr post by Hime1999]</p><p>The world is locked in the second World War, and Eren Jaeger is a German soldier who has all his memories intact from his previous life in the Survey Corps and has finally found the person he'd been looking for in one of the most unexpected of places.<br/>Rivaille is a French Jew who has no memories of the Corps at all. Despite having tried desperately to keep out of the camps, he somehow felt he could trust the odd young man, though he was pretty sure he'd gone crazy for something like that.</p><p>“Captain Levi, I’ve finally found you. This time, I'm going to be the one to protect you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Taken Away

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for this fic can be found here ( http://hime1999.tumblr.com/post/62026607176/the-usual-reincarnation-thingy-world-war-ii )

****

The year was 1940. Rivaille frowned as he stood in the line along with all the other French Jews with him. He sighed when he got up to the front of the line, taking the golden star that had the word ‘Juif’ printed clearly on the front.

            “God save us all.” He heard an old man say as the stars were sewn onto their coats, marking each and every one of them. The short man frowned and watched angrily as he saw passersby watching what was going on, muttering softly about it all. He sighed and moved to return to his small apartment, knowing his rights were being stripped away. He stripped off his jacket and moved to make himself a cup of tea, settling down on the chair at his small dinner table.  He sighed and turned on the radio to fill the silence, listening to the broadcast of how Hitler had taken over France and was under control of the Third Reich.

            “Ah, _mon Dieu._  This will all be the death of me.” He groaned before moving to continue on going about his day, taking a long bath before going to bed. This time, though, he didn’t sleep well. The screams of the Germans filled the streets, along with the sounds of their guns. He frowned when he looked out his window to see an innocent Jewish woman getting shot in the head.  He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. After all, he’d always hated unnecessary deaths.

            He sighed and sat down on his bed, holding the Torah close and muttering a prayer with his eyes closed. He wasn’t exactly the most faithful people, but he would still try his best to pray when he felt it was really needed. The night went on for what seemed like forever, and the soldiers never left.

            The young man had been trying desperately to keep out of the camps he’d heard about the German Jews going to. He sighed as he bade his time through the night, drinking tea and just staying awake all through the night, hiding out in his apartment from the Nazis below.

            It was going well, until about noon the next day. Rivaille jumped, cursing as he spilled his tea when he heard the loud boots and shouting pounding throughout his apartment complex before his door was thrown open. He watched, dumbfounded and confused as the men pushed him off his chair and onto the ground, yelling at him in German. He frowned as he was tugged up from the ground forcefully, hugging his Torah close as he was forced into the back of a truck along with a bunch of other confused men, women, and children. He let a small toddler girl sit on his lap, trying to calm her down as they were driven off to who knew where.

            They ended up getting unloaded when they got to a sort of halfway point camp. Levi was pushed into a tent with three other men, sighing as he sat down. They all sat around, trying to chase away the bad thoughts by telling personal stories and refusing to talk about the elephant in the room. They all jumped when the curtain was pulled back.

            The man behind the curtain had messy brunet hair under the round helmet and wore the usual German military uniform.  He seemed younger than Rivaille, though not really by much.  The smaller Frenchman couldn’t help but notice his brilliant blue-green eyes. He figured that, in an ideal world, he’d want to marry someone with those kinds of eyes just so he could wake up to them every morning.

            The young man looked around at the men before making eye contact with him and smiling a bit.

            Eren Jaeger had been dreaming about what gone down in history as the Titanic Age. He had all his memories, knowing full well that he’d once worn the same uniform as the man clutching the Torah next to him, the Wings of Freedom emblazoned on their backs. He smiled pleasantly as he’d finally found the man he’d been looking for after years of searching.

            “Captain Levi, I’ve finally found you.” He said to the other man with a friendly smile, speaking perfect English, knowing full well that the other would man would understand.

            Rivaille’s eyes widened at the words, scooting backwards from the German man worriedly. “You’re spewing nonsense. And you’re not pronouncing my name right. It’s Rivaille, with the French R.” he replied to the other man, getting the odd feeling that he could trust the man not to hurt him despite their current positions.

            Eren just smiled happily to him and gave a soft laugh, clapping his shoulder. “You haven’t changed, Corporal Levi Rivaille. Either way, I found you. This time, I’m going be the one to protect you.”


	2. Safety

            Rivaille frowned, his hooded eyes analyzing the other male. “You’re drunk.” He said finally.

            Eren blinked at that and just shook his head, chuckling a bit. “I’ve always hated alcohol.” He replied to him.

            Rivaille narrowed his eyes at him, his attention being drawn elsewhere when he heard German shouting outside the tent, watching as the male named Eren turned back and yelled something in return. He then backed away, keeping his Torah close when a couple more Germans came in, neither of them seeming as gentle and trustworthy as Eren.

            “Jaeger, what are you doing speaking to this thing?” One of them asked in the deep, guttural language that none of the Jews in the tent could understand, making them all even more frightened for their lives.

            “He’s not a thing, his name’s Levi. Or, Rivaillle, I guess.” Eren replied to him irritably, frowning.

            The two new Germans looked at each other before laughing a bit. “Ah, I see now. Little Eren’s getting the desires of a man that come with puberty. Well, I can’t say he’s really my type, too small. But, he’d make a good bed warmer for you, kid.” One of them said with a guffaw before clapping Eren’s back. The brunet said nothing, looking as if he was suppressing the urge to punch him in the jaw.

            “We move out to the camps tomorrow morning, Jaeger. Make sure to get them into the trucks. We should get them to Drancy tomorrow afternoon. If you really want keep this one safe, put your mark on him soon.” The other soldier said to him, patting his shoulder.

            Eren nodded and watched them go, turning back to group of nervous looking Frenchmen. “You’ll be taken to the Drancy concentration camp tomorrow. Mr. Rivaille, I promised you I’d keep you safe. It’s going to hurt, but I have no other choice right now. I need you to come with me and trust that I’ll keep you safe.” He said to them, holding a hand out to the shorter man.

            Rivaille looked down at the hand, seeming hesitant to take it. “What will you do to me?”

            “I have to brand you on the back. That way, they’ll know you’re being favored and pardoned from your crimes.” He replied.

            “What crime did I commit?”

            “You’re a Jew. According to them, that’s crime enough.”

            Rivaille frowned and analyzed Eren’s face a bit more before deciding he could trust him, taking his hand and letting him pull him up to his feet.

            “Now, I’m going to brand you, then I’ll let you sit off the pain. I know it’s cold, but you’ll have to sleep in my tent tonight in your underwear and make it look like we just got done making love. That way it’s believable when the higher ups come to wake us up tomorrow morning.” Eren explained to him softly as they walked, holding onto his forearm in the attempt to appear rough on the shorter man so no one would question them.

            Levi nodded, as he was lead away into a larger, far nicer tent with a fire going behind it. Eren lead him out to the back by the fire, looking sad and horrified about what he was going to do. He handed his old corporal a rag to bite on.

            “Can you please take your shirt off, sir? I’m so sorry about this, Mr. Rivaille.” He asked softly, knowing he’d never forgive himself for putting the other man through this kind of pain.

            Levi nodded and moved to unclip his suspenders in the front, letting them fall over his shoulders and down to the ground. He then untucked his shirt and unbuttoned it, stripping it off.

            Eren took the brand out of the fire and let it cool a bit for the sake of the other man. “Bite onto the towel now.” He said to him. When he did, he bit his lip and pressed the brand to the small of his back, burning the sigil that contained the old Wings of Freedom sigil onto his skin. He felt his heart break for the poor, unlucky man when he heard him scream out in agony around the towel.

            He took the brand off before moving to press ice to the area, kneeling down and wrapping an arm around Rivaille as the other man panted and leaned against him.

            “You’re safe now. Now I can keep you safe from everything. I’m going to keep you safe, Corporal.” Eren said to him softly, hugging him close and gently helping him up from the ground, carrying him with his discarded shirt into the tent. He then moved to gently lay him down, changing out of his own uniform and stripping down to just his underwear with the other man.

            “I still don’t know how I know you, but good night, Eren Jaeger.” Rivaille said softly after stripping off his shoes, socks, and pants, setting them all aside in a neatly folded little pile.

            “I hope you recognize me soon, sir. Goodnight, Rivaille.” Eren replied with a small smile, watching as he laid down before moving to lay down beside him, fitting his body around the other’s and covering them both with the blankets, his arms wrapped around the other’s middle.

            “Jaeger…. are you spooning me?” Rivaille asked with a cock of his eyebrow.

            “Sorry, sir, but if people come in here tomorrow, we have to make it look like we slept together.” Eren replied with a soft flush of his cheeks.

            “Well, I knew that. You never told me you’d be spooning me, though.” Rivaille replied with a sigh.

            “Oh, well, I’m sorry, sir. I just figured it went without saying is all. I’ll tell you next time, though.” Eren replied, rather flustered.

            “It’s fine. Just shut up and let me sleep.” Rivaille replied testily before leaning back against the other man, mentally noticing how well their bodies seemed to fit together.

            “Oh, alright, Corporal. Good night, then! I hope you sleep well.” Eren replied, still a bit flustered.   
            “Jaeger, I swear to God, I’m going to tie your hands together and shove a sock in your mouth. Shut the hell up.”

            “Right, sorry sir.  
            “Jaeger….”

            “I’ll be quiet now, sir.”

            Rivaille nodded and remained silent for a bit before smiling softly, relieved to find that Eren seemed to be a man of his word. He let his eyes fall shut before falling asleep against the other man.

            He slept peacefully for a few hours before he began to dream, images of people from what had gone down in history as the Titanic Age flashing in front of his eyes. It made no sense, though, at first. It wasn’t until a bit later until he started distinguishing the faces. Everything that had once been a blur of faces and images seemed to finally stop at one event. He was in some sort of courtroom, standing off to the side, watching a trial. He was waiting for something, a signal of some kind. When he got it, he moved to vault himself over the railing before walking up to the kneeling, chained figure he recognized as Eren Jaeger. He took one look at the boy before moving to bring his leg out and land a rather hard knee to his face, knocking a tooth out of his mouth and bouncing across the floor. He then continued to kick and knee the other until he’d started to cough blood, forcing his head down to the floor with a foot.

            “It’s just my personal opinion, but pain is the best tool for discipline. You don’t need to be educated by words. You need training. You’ve fallen low enough that you’re easy to kick around anyway.” He heard himself saying before everything went black and he woke up, bolting to sit up.

He panted, a cold sweat on his forehead, his brain feeling like there’d been a wall inside it that had just been breached as all the memories came flooding back.

Eren woke up when he felt the other move against him so suddenly. “Mr. Rivaille, what’s the matter?” he asked softly.

“It’s Levi. With an L.” He replied softly, confusing the other man further before passing out and falling back asleep on the bed next to him.


	3. Drancy

Eren watched as the shorter man collapsed back down onto the bed. He sighed and moved to lay back down as well, tucking them both in gently. He just wondered how things were going to play out now that he’d remembered.

Levi slept peacefully for the rest of the night. He woke up the next morning to the warm sunlight streaming through the tent and onto his face, blinking a bit. “Jaeger, wake up.” He said to Eren, shaking the sleeping man’s shoulder. He yawned a bit and stretched out, jumping a bit when he heard the trumpets start to play reveille rather loudly.

Eren woke up to the trumpeting, rubbing his bright jade eyes. “G’morning, corporal….” He said drowsily as he stretched out. “Let’s get dressed, get some breakfast, then I’m pretty sure they’ll let you sit up with me when we head out.” He said to Levi, finger combing his hair.

Levi nodded and crawled out of the bed, shivering a bit at the cool air when it hit his half nude body. He quickly put on his shirt, buttoning it down before putting on his pants and tucking it in. He then put on his suspenders and socks and shoes. He turned and watched as Eren put on his military uniform followed by his helmet and boots.

Eren turned back to Levi when he was finished. “Let’s go, Corporal.” He said to the other man and walking with him out of the tent, gently holding his wrist as they walked together, more for appearance purposes than anything.

Levi followed along behind Eren, making sure to keep his eyes down towards the ground in the attempt to appear meeker than he was as he was lead to the tent where the German soldiers were all laughing loudly and speaking in their guttural language to each other, their eyes turning towards him and Eren. He kept his eyes down, but soon heard some yelling at him in the foreign language, something pressing against his head. He dared to look over, finding himself staring down the barrel of the gun.

Eren yelled something at the other soldier, making him take the gun down from his head. He felt Eren wrap an arm around him protectively before leading him over to where all the food was.

“Thanks for that, kid.” Levi said to him softly as he took some of the sausages and a couple rolls with cheese. He followed Eren to a place where they could eat outside, sitting on the ground as he ate, not saying a word.

Eren ate his sausages in silence, glancing over at Levi every so often. He rather wished he wouldn’t have to treat the other man like his slave, though. After they’d all eaten, he led Levi over to the trucks, the other soldiers getting the rest of the Jews into the backs. He sighed and helped the shorter man into the truck, making sure he was sitting comfortably before getting in as well. Levi sighed as the truck started and they started the drive to the concentration camp. It took them hours to get there. When they did, Levi clutched his Torah close, the horrid gates opening. He couldn’t help but look around as he saw small children and adults watch as the trucks rode in. Eren leaned over and explained to Levi gently that it was merely an internment and deportation camp, so they shouldn’t see anything too bad. He then warned him that there was a high possibility that he’d be moved to Auschwitz later that month to help out over there, so things wouldn’t be as nice over there.

Levi nodded and swallowed as they all got out of the trucks, letting Eren lead him to where he’d be staying with him. It was a little concrete house-like building. They walked in and found that it was nothing more than a bit of space where a queen sized bed and a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink.

“It’s dirty, but it could be worse.” Levi decided as he looked around at the place, setting his book down on the end table and sitting down on the bed.

“There’s nothing much I can do about the dirt, Corporal, I’m sorry. But at least this’ll be a bit more comfortable and warm.” Eren apologized, setting his helmet aside and shaking out his hair before setting down next to the shorter man.

“I guess it could be worse, but it’s 1942 for God’s sake! It should be a bit cleaner than this.” Levi huffed irritably.

“Well, I’m thinking the soldier rooms like this’ll be a bit better at Auschwitz. Though, I don’t think the other soldiers over there will keep their hands off you even if I’ve marked you as mine. Things are harsher over there to people who aren’t German Christians.” Eren said to him gently, watching the other man curiously.

“You mean, Jews. Don’t try to sugar coat things for me, Eren. I’m not some confused child. I know exactly what the third Reich’s doing to people like me. And don’t act like I don’t know what they do at Auschwitz. Every Jew old enough to understand knows that place is Hell on Earth.” Levi snapped irritably to Eren. “I might be younger than when you first knew me, back with the titans, but I’m no idiot.”

Eren drew back a bit from the other man and sighed, giving the other his space, letting him calm down a bit before opening his mouth again. “I’m sorry, sir. I just didn’t want to offend you, that’s all. I guess that didn’t work out too well, though.” He replied softly before looking over at him. “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you now?”

“I’m twenty-two. And yourself?”

“I’m eighteen.”

Levi nodded and just sighed, wanting to get up and move around and stretch his legs out, though not wanting to see any poor child standing around with nothing to do, either wearing rags or clothes that were far too large on them. His growling stomach broke the silence, and Eren just chuckled.

“Come on, Corporal, let’s get something to eat. It’s been a while since breakfast.” Eren said with a smile, helping him off the bed and putting his helmet back on and leading him out of the small building. Levi kept his eyes down, grateful that he wouldn’t be able to see the scared and confused looks on everyone else’s faces as his attention was directed to his old, dirtied boots.


	4. Moving On

Levi walked with Eren into the building that was already half full of German soldiers, knowing for a fact that he stuck out like a sore thumb. He kept his eyes down and kept himself close to Eren.

“So, Jaeger, how was he? Was the little Jew good at warming your bed?” One of the men asked with a laugh, the other men laughing a bit as well as they all turned to look at Eren.

Eren frowned a bit, but just smiled to the men, knowing he had to keep letting them think that he was using Levi as someone to warm his bed and nothing more.

“Yeah, he was great. After a bit of getting him warmed up, he was extremely willing.” He replied to the other men, laughing along with them.

Levi frowned a bit, looking at Eren and the men, wanting to know what they were talking about, but not really wanting to either. The way some of the soldiers were looking at him, he didn’t really think he wanted to know.

“I’m sure he was. He’s so little though? How could you fit it all inside?” one of them asked curiously.

“I made sure he was nice and stretched out.” Eren replied to him, trying his hardest not to get angry at the questions they were asking, though knowing it would only get worse when they’d gotten to Auschwitz.

The Germans continued talking and laughing, looking back over at Levi every so often. He said nothing and just got himself some food, going rigid when he felt a large, firm hand on his ass. He turned around and saw himself face to face with one of the Nazis.

He figured he must have gasped of made some kind of noise because Eren was at his side in a second, yelling at the man who’d touched him.

“How dare you touch him? He’s mine, you bastard. If anyone wants to touch him, you ask me first.” He yelled angrily before taking Levi by the wrist and leading him out of the room.

Levi followed him out, staying silent as they walked back to the little concrete building with a plate of food.

“Sorry for that, by the way.” Eren said to him with a soft smile as they sat down on the bed to eat together.

“What were they saying?” Levi asked curiously as he ate the meats and cheeses.

“You really don’t wanna know.”

Levi nodded, figuring he’d take the other’s word for it. He just ate the food and spent the rest of the day in the concrete building while Eren got them playing cards and a few other things to help while away the hours. They eventually ended up sleeping in the same position as they had the other night, in their under wear and just keeping close to each other as the weather had begun to get colder and they needed to keep warm.

Levi woke up to hear Eren and another German talking quietly to each other, the other soldier not paying him any mind. He figured it had to be serious if they weren’t laughing as annoyingly as usual.

Eren turned back to him after the other had left and gave a soft sigh. “I’m sorry, Corporal. There’s been a change of plans. One of the guys who was supposed to go today’s gotten ill so I’ve been told to take over. We’re going to Auschwitz at noon.”

Levi just nodded to the other. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t have anything to do with it.” He replied to him as he moved to get himself dressed, checking the time and seeing that they’d slept in and only had a few hours to get ready.

They packed the few things in a single trunk that they’d bring. When it came time to go, Levi clutched his Torah close to himself and boarded the train, with Eren. They got a compartment to themselves and he sat across from the younger man. The entire train was rather quiet as they rode.

“How long do you think this is going to last? I mean with Hitler and all that.” Levi asked after about half an hour of silence.

“I don’t know really. With the Americans and the British and the Russians and all them fighting against him, I don’t think it should be too much longer. You never know, though.” Eren replied to him with a sigh, shrugging. “I know I’m not really supposed to, but I hope it happens soon. I really hate this. “

Levi nodded in agreement and just kept talking to him to while away the hours on the train before falling asleep for a while. He woke up when they’d stopped, and Eren was gently shaking him.

“Corporal, sir, we’ve arrived.  Please wake up.” Eren said to him gently.

He nodded and rubbed his eyes a bit before moving to stand up and grab his Torah and their trunk, then walking off the train with him.

Almost immediately, he wanted back on.

He kept close to Eren as they walked off and into the camp, surrounded by shouting German men. One of them approached the two of them; obviously asking about the Jew Eren was with. The two exchanged a few sentences before the German man looked over at him.

“You may be favored, but you’re still just a filthy Jew.  You’re lucky Jaeger is merciful enough to pardon you for your crimes. Had it been anyone else, you’d be dead in an instant, Rivaille.” The man said in perfect French to him.

Levi really hated the way the man said his name. It felt like he was flinging acid at him with just the sound of his name alone. “What crime is that, sir?” he asked to him confidently, though making sure not to be overly confident.

“Your crime is the same as the rest of your kind: existing.” The man said shortly before taking the Torah out of his arms. “Ah, that’s nice. It’s from your mother.” He commented with a seemingly benevolent smile. “What happened to Mommy, little one?”

“She died with my father in an automobile accident when I was fifteen.” Levi replied to him with a frown.

“That’s too bad.” He replied, though completely apathetic as he threw the book into a fire nearby. 


	5. Complications

Levi watched with wide eyes as the soldier tossed his book uncaringly into the fire before growling and launching himself at him angrily, tackling the man to the ground.

“Damn you! You fucking bastard!” He screamed at the other man angrily before spewing even more curses that made mothers around them cover their children’s ears.

Eren took the smaller man by the armpits and removed him from on top of the soldier as he thrashed around and screamed at him, too, about being manhandled. He didn’t listen though, and just let his former corporal get his frustrations out.

“Jaeger, you’d do well to keep him under control. He’s lucky to have that brand on his back, otherwise I’d have him killed here and now.” The soldier growled before grabbing Levi’s chin and forcing him to look up at him before spitting in his face and walking away.

Eren frowned a bit, but kept his hold on the seething shorter man, practically dragging him back to where they’d be staying, which was a nicer version of their last dwelling. He let Levi go once they were inside, letting the other sit on the bed and cool down.

“Corporal, you’re going to have to watch your temper around here. When this is all over and we get out of here, I’ll buy you a new Torah.” Eren said to the shorter man, frowning a bit as he wiped off his face for him.

“Don’t bother, I’ll be fine without one. It’s not like I’m devout anyways.” Levi replied with a shake of his head as the other man wiped off his face for them.

Eren nodded and put the rag aside once he’d cleaned Levi off, holding him close to himself to try and calm him down further. They sat in silence for some time with Eren just holding onto Levi and Levi just letting him.

“Maybe we should go for a walk or something.” Levi suggested, knowing he’d be fine just so long as he stayed close to Eren. The brunet nodded and smiled, standing up to walk with him out of the small building.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant walk in the park, though, and they soon both gained perspective on the sort of Hell they were currently in. As they walked, they heard German soldiers yelling at various people, one of them being a young woman clutching her crying baby to her breast protectively.

Levi regretted even watching at all when he saw the soldier wrench the baby from its mother’s arms only to shoot it in the head in front of her. The woman screamed and fell to the ground and Levi felt like he was going to throw up, immediately turning around and running back to their small concrete cabin, heaving into the basin of the toilet. Eren came into the cabin soon after him and gently rubbed his back as he threw up, then helping him to clean up after he was done.

“I hope someone comes to help pretty damn soon. This is Hell on Earth.” He groaned, keeping close to Eren as the other man moved to carry him over to their bed, laying him down to rest in it.

“So do I, sir.  It shouldn’t be much longer, I’m sure. The Allies are fighting to liberate us.” Eren replied to him gently.  “Soon it’ll be 1943. I’m sure we won’t have that much longer to wait.”

Levi nodded and grabbed Eren’s sleeve as the younger man stood up. “Don’t leave. Not yet.” He said softly, looking up at him.

“I’m just going to get us some food and bring it back here. I won’t be too long, I promise.” He said to the smaller man before moving to leave the cabin, making sure to walk with purpose so he wouldn’t leave the Corporal waiting for too long. He was nearly at the dining cabin for the soldiers when he felt a hand clap over his mouth and drag him back into the shadows behind the building. When he was turned around, he found himself face to face with a rather tall and bulky blonde man who, quite frankly, looked like he could easily pound him into nothingness. Beside him was a brunette woman, who was about his height with her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and her brown eyes hidden behind rectangular glasses.

“What the hell?” He asked out of shock, looking at the pair.

“My sources tell me you’ve taken a Jew under your wing and you’re protecting him, is that right?” The man asked seriously.

“Yeah, I have. Why do you care? Who are you?”

“Oh, well, I’m Ha-I’m Zoe and that’s Smith. That’s all we can tell you about that.” The woman replied happily, smiling at him. “We care because of other reasons I’m not sure if I can tell you.”

“Are you Eren Jaeger?” The man called Smith asked.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Then we can tell him.” He concluded, looking over at Zoe.

“We’re working for the Allies. They’re planning to liberate these camps, but it might be a while.” Zoe said to him, her smile fading and her face turning serious. “We need you to take us to the Jew you’ve been harboring.”

“Y-Yeah, alright. Just let me get some food first. I told him I’d get us both some dinner.” Eren agreed with a nod and a small sigh before they let him go to the dining cabin, to get the food on a couple plates, then return to the pair besides the building. “Just follow me.” He directed before leading them through to the small concrete cabin he and Levi had been calling home.

“Oh, also, I need to warn you. It’s been a rough day and he can get kind of irritable. Actually, it’s normal for him to be irritable, so it’s worse today. Leave your shoes outside the door here unless you want to get him upset.” Eren warned them, and took off his own boots with them and opened the door, walking into the cabin to Levi.

“Took you long enough. What, did you have to take a shit while you were there?” Levi asked as he sat up in the bed, frowning a bit.

Eren just laughed a bit awkwardly and handed Levi his plate, sitting down on the bed next to him. “Sorry. I got held up.” He replied to the other man.

“Let me guess, it was by these freaks.” Levi replied, pointing to Zoe and Smith as he ate.

“Yeah, it was them. But I wouldn’t call them ‘freaks’ just yet, corporal. They’re with the Allies, they’re trying to help.” Eren replied to him a bit awkwardly as he ate his own food.

“We just wanted to ask you two a few questions, that’s all.” Hanji said to him with a chipper smile despite how rude he was being to them.

“Go ahead and ask them. No one’s stopping you, shit glasses.” Levi replied to her.

“Levi, don’t be so rude!” Eren exclaimed in shock, wishing the former corporal would listen to him.


	6. Questions

Hanji sat down next to the two men on the bed, taking out a small notepad and a pen. “Your files say your name is Rivaille. How old are you and where did they take you from?” she asked, her smile fading and tone becoming serious.

“I’m twenty-three. They took me from my home in Paris.” He replied with a small sigh.

She nodded to him before eyeballing Eren warily and turning back to him, quickly switching to speaking to him in fluent French. “This Eren kid, how much has he hurt you?”

“He branded my back, but it keeps me from being hurt by any other soldier here.” Levi replied back in the same language. “That’s all, though.”

“May I see?” She asked curiously.

Levi thought about it for a bit, but sighed and nodded, taking the suspenders off his shoulders and pulling his shirt from his pants to lift it up and show her the mark burnt into the small of his back. He heard her gasp just a bit at the sight, gently running her fingers over the mark.

Hanji then turned to Eren and went back to speaking English. “Eren Jaeger, how old are you and what made you join the military?”

“I’m seventeen. I joined the military on conscription.” The brunet boy replied to her.

“Alright. Of all people to take pity on, why did you choose Rivaille? Why did you save him?”

Eren fidgeted a bit, having remembered her and Erwin from his past. He couldn’t be sure if they remembered them, though. “Well, um, he saved me first.  I just kind of repaid the favor.”

Hanji blinked and nodded to them, jotting down her notes a bit. “Alright, are you two in a sort of homosexual relationship?”

Both Eren and Levi were shocked at that, looking at her with wide eyes.

“No! No, of course not! I mean, the other soldiers think we’ve slept together, but that’s just because he’s supposed to be my toy. I mean, we do share a bed and I bring him food and stuff, but that’s all.” Eren said for the both of them.  “He’s just my toy.”

“Somewhat. I’m not entirely his toy, I don’t take his shit.” Levi piped up, adding to it.

Hanji analyzed them both before nodding. “So, because you favor him, you claim to have declared Rivaille your toy so he won’t get hurt. Is that right, Eren?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Eren replied with a nod to her.

Hanji turned to Erwin and looked up at him. “What do you think, Erwin?”

“I think they look weirdly familiar.” Erwin replied with a small sigh, moving closer to the two men and looking at them both. “Look, the Allies are aiming to liberate this place soon. You two have a choice. You can wait until they do and leave with everyone else, or Hanji and I can get you out tonight.”

Levi looked over at Eren after the proposal, wondering what he’d think. “I say we leave tonight. This place is Hell and it smells like piss.”

Eren nodded to him and sighed a bit. “Will I get in trouble, do you think, if a soldier suddenly goes missing?” he asked Erwin and Hanji.

“Not if we win this war.” Hanji replied to him with a soft smile.

“I guess we’ll go with you, then. I’ll be able to stay with the cor- Rivaille, right?” Eren decided, keeping close to the shorter man.

“Sure, that’s fine. We’ll come back tonight at midnight and knock thrice on the door. Be ready to go when we come.” Erwin said to them, standing up with Hanji and walking with her out of the small building. He couldn’t shake that spooky feeling, though, that he knew the pair of men from somewhere. But, on the other hand, he’d never met them before in his life.

“How do we know those two, do you know?” Hanji asked him as they left. “I mean, I swear I know them. It’s impossible, though.”

“I have no idea. I’ve got the same feeling, though. I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough.” Erwin replied to her as they walked together away from the small building.

Eren watched them go from the small window, sighing a bit. “I guess we’d better get our things packed up, Corporal.” He said to Levi, turning back around. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw the other man on his toes, trying desperately to get the small trunk he assumed was Eren’s from a shelf on the wall. He then walked over to the shorter man and help him get it down. He got the trunk down from the shelf for him, handing it to the shorter man.

“Do we even have any stuff to pack, do you think?” Levi asked curiously as he opened the trunk on the bed and looked over at Eren.

“I have a couple things, but not too many. Just give me a second, please, sir.” Eren replied to him with a nod, getting some underwear and casual clothes and packing them away in the trunk. He couldn’t help but laugh a bit as Levi took the clothes out and refolded them neater than they had been before setting them back into the trunk.

“Something funny, Jaeger?” Levi asked with a cock of his eyebrow to the other man.

“No, sorry, sir. Just the way you have to have everything perfect. It’s kind of….I don’t know. I guess it’s kind of cute.” Eren replied to him with an innocent smile.

Levi looked at him and blinked. “Creepy kid. Don’t say shit like that.” He replied as he closed the trunk and latched it shut, setting it aside for later that night.


	7. Running Away

It was around midnight and Levi had started to get rather antsy and irritable with how tired he was. Granted, he was always pretty irritable, but Eren decided it was worse right then.

“Where the hell are those assholes? They said they’d be around tonight. It is currently tomorrow.” Levi griped, frowning up at the clock before going back to his pacing around.

“I’m sure they’ll be around soon, sir. They’re probably just making sure the coast is clear.” Eren said to the smaller man, trying to calm him down.

“They’d better get their asses in gear. I’m tired, I don’t want to have to stay awake the entire fucking night.”

“They’ll get here soon, corporal. Just calm down.”

“You said they’d be here soon an hour ago, shitty brat.”

“Please just calm down, corporal. It really can’t be too much longer. Just sit down here with me.”

Levi looked over at him and sighed, giving in and moving to sit down on the bed with Eren, trying to calm himself down while staying awake.

“Sir, do you want me to rub your back while we wait? You seem really tense.” Eren proposed, looking over at the other man.

Levi sighed and nodded. “I guess that’d be fine, yeah.” He replied before moving to take off his shirt and lay down on the bed on his stomach. He felt as Eren climbed on top of him, the younger man seating himself on his thighs. Then, a pair of hands began to massage his back, starting at the base of his neck, then the area between his shoulder blades, working out every knot and kink.

“You really were tense, sir.” Eren said softly as he rubbed out the entire expanse of Levi’s back.

Levi smiled softly as he relaxed under Eren, humming with appreciation in return to the other man. “Ah, harder…” he said with a slight moan.

Eren flushed brightly at the words combined with the moan and couldn’t help but imagine the same noises and words coming from the smaller man, though in a far more intimate situation. He continued to massage Levi a bit harder; the other’s noises making him find that his pants were getting pretty tight.

Levi smiled as he was massaged, but frowned when he felt something poking at his upper thigh that he was fairly certain wasn’t Eren’s gun. “You sick fuck, get off me.” He growled to the other man, twisting and shoving Eren off from on top of him. He frowned and moved to put his shirt back on, tucking it into his pants and pulling the straps of his suspenders up onto his shoulders. He looked up as he heard three knocks on the door, getting off the bed. “Filthy teenager.” He muttered to Eren, kicking the boy’s shin as he walked over to the door to open it and let the pair from before into the small building.

“Are you two ready to go? We need to move quickly.” Hanji said to them with a small smile.

“Yeah, we’re ready.” Eren replied, picking himself off the ground and grabbing their trunk.

“Follow us, then.” Erwin said to them, leading the group out of the small building and silently through the dark camp. The route was filled with multiple turns, but it was all to make sure they weren’t caught as they left the camp. Soon, they made it to a cargo truck and Hanji took their trunk.

“We’re going to have to make you two get in the back with the crates, sorry.” She said to the pair of males before moving some crates aside to reveal a small area with blankets and pillows for the two of them.

Eren nodded and smiled a bit to the brunette woman before moving to help Levi up into the back of the large truck, then following him back into the back of the truck.

Hanji smiled to the two of them when they were settled in. “Alright, it’s gonna be a kind of long drive. So, if you get hungry, some of these crates have food you can eat in them. Just let us know if you have to go to the bathroom and we’ll pull over.”

Eren nodded to her as he took off his shoes and got comfortable, setting his boots next to Levi’s. “Alright, thanks.” He replied to her before the back curtain was drawn and crates surrounded them again.

Levi yawned and moved to lay down with his head on one of the pillows, watching as Eren did the same beside him. He sighed and curled up next to the other man, having grown used to sleeping beside him and using him for warmth. He was lulled to sleep by the sound of the other’s steady breathing and feeling of the truck starting to move down the road and away from the camp.

Eren watched as the other man fall asleep next to him, keeping close to the smaller male and wrapping his arms around him to make sure he kept warm.

Levi woke up a few hours later as morning broke through the curtains of the back of the truck. He yawned and sat up, cracking his back and stretching out. He then helped himself to a nice-sized roll from one of the crates and an apple from another one, eating contently. He looked over at Eren and made a face when the younger man snorted between snores, reaching over with his foot and nudging his forehead. “Wake up, shithead. You’re making disgusting noises.” He said to the other man as he ate his food.

Eren stirred awake and looked up at Levi tiredly. “Morning, Corporal.” He said, rubbing his eyes and smiling at him softly.

“Morning, kiddo. Have some breakfast.” Levi replied to him, passing Eren a roll to eat before going back to eating his own food and slowly waking all the way up as the truck drove on.


	8. On the Way Out

Eren couldn’t help but notice that the rocking motion of the truck as it drove over the gravel roads seemed to soothe Levi out of his usual irritated state. He found it kind of funny and cute, though, how the other man just sat there in a sort of tranquil state, humming to himself every so often and tossing an apple up and down to keep himself entertained. He made a mental note to rock Levi whenever he started losing it.

They pulled to the side of the road after a bit so Hanji and Erwin could switch places, one driving while the other slept.

“Hey, if you gotta use the bathroom, I’d do it now. There’s a nice ditch over here.” Hanji said to them.

“I’d actually recommend you do, so you don’t wet yourself when you see how badly she drives.” Erwin said to them, laughing when the woman punched his arm.

Eren and Levi looked at each other and moved to get out of the truck to stretch their limbs out and got to the bathroom, knowing they probably wouldn’t be able to do so for a while.

“Hey, so where are we going anyway?” Levi asked as he unzipped his fly and moved to use the bathroom a bit away from Eren.

“We’re heading to London to get on a boat to America. For whatever reason, they’re not being bombed, so it’s safer. There’s kind of a limit on immigration, but we’re with the Allies, so we get privileges. Especially since Erwin here’s a total Yankee.” Hanji replied with a smile to the men as they came up when they’d finished up.

“And where are we now?” Eren asked as he moved to crack his back with a sigh.

“We’re in Germany now. Which is why we have to keep ourselves on the down low. We’ll be driving for about a day more, and then we’ll cross over the English Channel either early tomorrow or late tonight. It’ll most likely be the latter.” Erwin said to them, helping the two men back into the truck where they were hidden safely with the crates surrounding them.

Eren sat with Levi in the back of the truck again as they drove along once again, eating when they were hungry and just relaxing in the back. The two of them chatted in the back easily, though it often consisted of bickering like a couple of brothers would. They were throwing small chunks of bread at each other’s mouths, trying to see if they could catch any when the car suddenly stopped and they heard German voices outside.

Levi looked over at Eren and held a finger to his lips, laying down flat and curling his legs in, motioning for Eren to do the same. He then grabbed a blanket and made sure it looked like a bunch of fruit under the blanket rather than a couple men, just in case.

He heard the German men move and open some of the crates, clamping a hand over his mouth. He finally let out a breath of relief when he heard the Germans move away and the truck began to move again. He stayed silent for a bit longer, not noticing that Eren’s arms had made their way around him protectively.

“Thank God…” Levi said softly as he got his racing heart rate back down to normal. “You can let go of me, now.”

“Oh, right.” Eren replied with a nod, letting go of the other man and sitting up with the other man.

They spent the rest of the day in the truck, throwing bread at each other until they grew tired and fell asleep. They only got a few hours to sleep, though, as they arrived at the English Channel around midnight that night.

“Hey, you two. Wakey wakey.” Hanji said to the sleeping pair with a smile, prodding them both.

They stirred and woke up, letting Hanji and Erwin help them out of the truck with their trunk. They all walked together to the boat that would take them across to England. When they got over there, they were almost immediately met up with other Ally soldiers who all started talking to Erwin and Hanji, none of them really seeming to notice Eren or Levi at all.

Hanji handed her notes to another French soldier before asking if the boat to America was almost ready.

“They just began boarding now.” One man almost as big as Erwin told them, leading the quartet to the large ship where they’d spend the next couple days.

Eren kept close to Levi, and vice versa, as they boarded the colossal ship where a bunch of other Ally soldiers were boarded, some of them starting to talk to Erwin and Hanji happily.

“What do we do? Where are we supposed to sleep?” Eren asked, wanting nothing more than to find a bed and crash down onto it.

“I don’t know. They both randomly disappeared and I have no damn clue what’s going on and – what the fuck?” Levi said irritably as he turned around to find that another man had decided to smell his neck, frowning when the taller blonde just smirked at him, obviously not ashamed about the weird gesture. Levi jut growled and kicked the other man before backing away and into what felt like a brick wall.

“Don’t mind Mike. He just does that to everyone he meets. No one knows why.” Erwin said behind the man who looked positively tiny in front of him. “Come on, I’ll show you two to your room. I have no idea where Hanji went.”

They nodded and followed behind Erwin into the cabins of the ship, down to the small cabin with one bed.

“Sorry it’s so small. It’s the best we could get on short notice.” Erwin apologized as the two men walked into the room together.

“It’s fine. We’ve shared a bed for a while, we can do it again.” Levi replied to him with a yawn, looking back at Eren only to find the other passed out on one side of the bed. “Good night, Erwin.” He said with a small sigh, closing the door. He then took off his shoes and moved to take Eren’s shoes off him. He got the other comfortable, flipping him onto his back, then covering him up with the blankets. He looked up at him and couldn’t help but notice how peaceful and young the other looked while he slept. Though, of course he was young. He was probably not even twenty yet. He was just a kid, forced to be an adult in the war. He frowned a bit and sighed, giving a soft, crooked smile as he let his fingers ghost over the other’s features, tracing along his smooth cheeks and nose, then his lips. He couldn’t help but wonder if they’d be as soft under his own lips rather than his fingers. He then shook hid head, pulling away.

Thinking things like that weren’t right. They were dirty, horrid thoughts. Those were the kinds of thoughts he ought to be having about pretty young ladies. He sighed and tried to think about women the way he’d thought about Eren, but found he just couldn’t. He always just started thinking about men. He sighed and sat down on the bed, bowing his head and folding his hands before starting to pray to the Lord to give him guidance and answers so he wouldn’t be so horribly confused about all this.


	9. Boats

Levi sighed as he got into the bed with Eren, though he didn’t sleep at all, lost in his own worried thoughts. Homosexuality was horrid, and everyone knew it. It was filthy, immoral, sinful, and downright awful. Homosexuals were a menace to society. When people thought about a perfect little neighborhood, they thought of men in suits coming home from their jobs in an office to their wives at home, who’d be standing at the door of the house with their pipes for them, dinner already in the oven while their kids played. Everyone relaxed on Saturday and went to church on Sunday and then things picked up again on Monday. Life was supposed to be simple and happy like that.

He frowned, thinking about all the things that could be done to a man or woman if they were found out to be homosexual. They could be beaten, murdered, thrown in jail, all sorts of horrid things, just for not being normal. He looked back over at Eren and felt himself relax almost immediately at the other man’s rather sweet face. He wondered what Eren would do if he really was a homosexual. He wondered if the other would push him away, yell at him that he should have just let the Nazis kill him with the rest of the Jews.

Then again, that didn’t really seem like Eren. The other had promised to keep him safe from everything that threatened to hurt him. He wondered if, in that case, the other would stick beside him. If he’d just wrap his arms around him and hold him close, reassuring him that they’d get through it all together, and that he wasn’t a monster or some vile freak. He smiled a bit at the thought and soon fell asleep next to Eren, subconsciously getting closer to the other and curling into him.

Eren slept peacefully, keeping close to Levi all through the night. He woke up before the other man, his wide blue-green eyes fluttering open. He then looked down at Levi beside him and smiled a bit. He moved to brush some of his inky black hair from his face, causing the other to mumble something in French. He laughed softly and gently poked the other’s nose, getting it to wrinkle up as he slept on. The younger man then smiled as he noticed just how small the other’s features were. His nose was perfectly sculpted and petite, his jaw angular despite the fact that his face was still rather childlike compared to someone like Erwin’s. He noticed that, as he slept, his pale lips parted just slightly. The other’s eyelashes rested gently on his cheeks, the black lashes contrasting beautifully with his milky pale skin. “So lovely…” he said softly, letting his hand rest gently on the other man’s cheek.

Levi stirred a bit and let his own eyes open, looking up at Eren. “Morning, kiddo.” He said softly as the other pulled his hand away. 

“Good morning, Corporal. We’d better get up and dressed. We’re in England and we’ll have to get on another boat with Erwin and Hanji to go to America.” Eren said to him, watching the other man sit up in the bed.

Levi nodded to him and stretched out, getting out of the bed with Eren. He straightened out the clothes he’d slept in, tucking his shirt into his pants again and untwisting his suspenders. He then finger combed his hair to straighten it out. “How many days do you think it’ll take to get to America?”

“I’m not sure. About a week, I’d think.” Eren replied to him honestly as he straightened out his own clothes and hair, though it remained a brunet mess on top of his head.

Levi nodded and looked over at Eren, watching the other get their trunk of things and walking out of the room with him to go up to the main deck. They found Erwin and Hanji there together, and the pair gave them a couple pastries for breakfast as they got off the ship together.

“I’ve got your papers here for when we get to Ellis Island. It’ll be safer for you two in America from here on out. You’ll go though the island and become registered American citizens. I recommend you get your selves a ride out of New York, though. All the new immigrants go there and don’t have the money to get out, so that’s where they settle. It’s a filthy city and a lot of the people are poor. You’d have better chances out west.” Erwin said to them as they got off the ship and moved to get onto the next one that would take them to New York.

“Eren, I hope you’re not too nationalistic to Germany, because they absolutely hate anything German over there. They renamed sauerkraut to Freedom Cabbage.” Hanji said to them as Erwin showed their papers to the man at the main deck of the new ship as they got on it. The man seemed to eye Eren and Levi curiously after reading that Eren used to be in the German army and Levi was Jewish.

“That’s an interesting pair. Welcome aboard, nonetheless.” He said to them in a cockney accent as they boarded the ship together. Levi finished his pastry as they boarded the ship and were given their rooms. Eren then walked with him to their room to drop off their trunk in the room.

“We’ll meet you two up here in a few minutes.” He said to Hanji and Erwin, who just smiled and nodded to them, watching the pair walk off together.

Levi was rather relieved when they got to the room and it was a bit larger and perfectly clean. Though, it still had only one bed.

“You look like there’s a lot on your mind, Corporal.” Eren said as he put their trunk beside the bed when they got into the room and got settled.

“There is.” Levi replied honestly to the other man, helping him to get settled and everything.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on in there?” Eren asked with a playful smile, poking the other’s forehead.

“No, I’m not.” Levi replied, swatting his hand away and smiling a bit back at Eren.

Eren laughed and smiled as he finally noticed how close he was to the other man, poking his nose gently and laughing as it wrinkled up a bit once again. “You’re so adorable, Levi.” He said without thinking.

Levi felt his eyes widen at that, his cheeks growing rather warm, watching as Eren’s did the same.

“Sorry, sir.” Eren said softly to the other man, looking down at his feet.

“Don’t be, it’s fine.” Levi replied just as softly, gasping a bit when Eren looked up at him and gently pulled him in closer by the waist.

He felt his entire world stop spinning as Eren’s lips pressed to his in a sweet, gentle kiss.


	10. Starting Anew

Levi had no idea how to react to the kiss. He knew he ought to push Eren away and tell him not to. Though, he really didn’t want to. He decided he’d deal with all that later, finally making the decision to wrap his arms around Eren’s neck and kiss him back gently, letting the other man hold him.

When they pulled away, neither of them said anything, just keeping close to each other, their arms still wrapped around each other.

“We shouldn’t be doing this. It’s immoral and sinful.” Levi said softly to the other man despite the fact that he still hadn’t let go of him.

“Did you like it, though, Corporal?” Eren asked, holding the smaller man by the waist.

“I guess I did, yes.” Levi admitted with a sigh and a nod.

“As did I. I guess we’ll just have to make sure no one finds out.”

Levi looked up at Eren, trying to read him. “Homosexuals go to Hell, though.” He said softly.

Eren sighed softly at that, gently cupping Levi’s cheeks. “Yes, but it was thanks to God that we found each other. He was the one who brought us together, and let me save you from those camps. This is His plan. He wouldn’t want to deliberately send us down to Hell.”

Levi looked up at Eren at that and smiled softly. “I guess you’ve got a point. There’s no way He could want to send us down there after bringing us together again.”

Eren smiled gently to Levi, kissing his forehead. “We’re just before our time, that’s all. We’ll get through this together; we just need to keep our feelings for each other hidden. When we get to America and settle down together, we’ll convince people we’re roommates.”

Levi nodded at that, figuring it would be a good plan, and kissing Eren once again, hugging him tightly. He smiled softly and let the other man lift him up off his feet and swing him around in a circle a bit. He smiled, as he was set down on the bed after a bit, keeping close to Eren as the other ran his fingers through his hair and played with it.

“I think I first fell for you when we first met and you saved me from that titan, sir.” Eren said softly to the other, glad that he’d seemed to be able to bring out the other’s softer side.

“Yeah? I think I fell for you when you were in that cell before the trial and you were so dead set on killing all the titans. It impressed me.” Levi replied, leaning into Eren a bit and letting the other continue to play with his hair.

Eren smiled at that and kissed Levi’s temple softly, keeping the other man held close to him. “It’s a shame we didn’t get to tell each other how we felt back then.” He said softly to the other man.

Levi frowned a bit and nodded, keeping close to Eren as he remembered the last moments of his last life. He quickly shook the thoughts from his head, wanting to remain optimistic with Eren and forget the bad things for a while.

“We have each other now, though. I guess that’s really the most important thing, Corporal.” Eren continued, wrapping an arm around the other’s waist and holding him close to himself.

“Yeah, we do. And we’ll be able to start all over when we get to America, too.” Levi replied with a nod to the other man, more than glad that the other seemed to be able to lighten his mood so easily.

“We’re going have to get jobs when we get there. What kind of job would you want, if you could have your way, sir?”

“Preferably, if I could have my way, I’d be paid for doing nothing.”

Eren laughed at that and smiled happily to Levi, shaking his head. “Seriously, Corporal. What would you want to do?”

“I think I could teach French or work in a patisserie.” Levi replied honestly to Eren with a small shrug.

“That sounds nice. It would be nice to be able to teach German, but pretty much anything related to Germany’s taboo right now.” Eren replied with a small sigh. “I’m pretty good with numbers, though, so I could be an accountant.”

Levi nodded to Eren and sighed a bit, keeping close to him and gently holding onto his hand. “You said you’d stay by me for the rest of time to keep me safe. How are we going to do that without raising suspicion?”

Eren frowned a bit and had to think about that one for a bit. “I guess we’ll just have to tell people we’re roommates. “

“I guess that’s really the only option.” Levi replied before yawning. “Damn, I’m tired.”

“Let’s go to bed, then.  We’ll be on this boat for a while anyways.” Eren replied to him with a nod and a small smile, moving to strip down to his underwear with Levi, and then laying in the bed with him.

“Sleep well, Levi. I love you.” Eren said to the other man, gently stroking his silky black hair.

“I love you, too, Eren.” Levi replied, gently kissing the other’s cheek before letting his eyes flutter shut as he slowly fell asleep next to Eren.

Eren kissed Levi’s forehead gently and held him close to himself, making sure the other was safe and comfortable before letting himself fall asleep next to him, his nose buried in the other’s soft hair. He smiled as he dreamt easily about their lives in America, even if he’d never be able to express his love to the other outside the safety and privacy of their own home. They’d grow old together and never leave each other’s side through the rest of their lives. They’d be happy together for the rest of time and he’d be able to protect the man who’d protected him so many times in the past.


	11. Flaws in the Plan

 

Eren woke up rather early, finding Levi still asleep peacefully next to him. He said nothing, just watching as the other men slept next to him happily. He sighed and started losing himself in his own thoughts. He imagined their lives in America again and how they’d be posing as roommates.

He then frowned as he finally noticed a flaw in their plan. That would be horribly suspicious. They wouldn’t be able to go very long until people got the wrong idea, or, in that case, the right idea that they were trying to keep hidden.

He looked over at the sleeping figure of Levi, another option running through his head. He was pretty sure Levi would get angry when he brought it up, though. He looked down as the other stirred a bit against him, his grey eyes soon fluttering open.

“What time is it?” he asked drowsily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“It’s about seven now, sir.” Eren replied to him with a small smile to him as the other woke up.

“How long have you been up?” Levi asked as he sat up and stretched out.

“About half an hour, sir. Corporal, I’ve been thinking.”

“Good to know you’ve got a brain hidden away in there.”

“No, I’m serious. I don’t honestly think the whole ‘roommate’ thing’s going to pass off as easily as we think. People are going to get suspicious in no time.”

Levi sighed and thought about that for a bit, frowning. “I guess you’re right. What do you suppose we do, then?”

“Well, you’re going to get pissed at me for this. I was thinking we could pose as man and wife.”

Levi stopped and looked over at the other man. Eren gulped a bit, knowing that look was the one he’d always had before sending himself spinning rapidly and moving to cut through the limbs and flesh of some unfortunate titan. “Oh? And who would be the wife?”

Eren gulped again. “Well, I thought that, because you’re smaller and a bit thinner, perhaps you could. I’m sorry, sir.”

Levi held Eren’s gaze for a while, his face emotionless, not letting the other know anything about what he was thinking.

After a bit, he sighed and frowned a bit. “Fine, I guess it could work a bit better. How would we do it? I don’t have breasts, I don’t own a dress, and my hair is that of a man’s.”

Eren looked over at the other and gave a small smile that the other hadn’t shot the idea down and didn’t seem too mad. “I’m sure Hanji has a dress you could borrow for when we get there. We’ll tell her the plan and we’ll see what she can do.”

Levi nodded and felt as his stomach growled. “Let’s get dressed, I’m starving.”

“Yes, sir.” Eren replied promptly before moving with the other to put on their clothes and boots.

When they were both ready, they left to go up to the main deck to meet Hanji and Erwin for breakfast. He smiled when they walked up to them, Hanji smiling just as widely as ever.

“Hey, you two. Sleep well?” She asked them happily.

“Yeah, we did. I have kind of a weird question to ask you.” Levi replied to her.

She stopped and cocked her head at that. “Well, you definitely got my attention. What is it?”

“Eren and I have decided it’s going to look super suspicious for two men to be living together and claiming that we’re merely roommates. So, I was wondering if you have a dress and some shoes or something I can wear when we get to America. I’m going to be posing as Eren’s wife so people won’t freak out too much.” Levi explained to her.

She blinked and smiled a bit. “You’re lucky I had to go under disguise for a while. I’ll get you a wig too.”

Levi nodded and smiled a bit to her, looking over at Eren and sighing a bit before moving away to get breakfast for himself. Eren smiled a bit and followed him to the food.

The rest of the weeklong trip went by rather easily and quickly. Soon enough they were about an hour or so away from America and Hanji had whisked Levi away to make him look and act more like a young woman.

She smiled almost wickedly when she walked into the room with lotion and a razor. Levi frowned as he sat in his bathrobe on the toilet, watching warily as she walked over to him.

“Don’t worry too much. Just take the top of your robe down, please.” She replied.

Levi obeyed, baring his torso to her and cooperating as she lifted one of his slender arms and moved to start shaving off all the hair beneath his arm, lathering the skin with lotion afterwards, then doing the same to the other arm.

“Remember, American women take great value in being smooth and hairless. So shave regularly.” She said as she moved to take one of his slender legs and shave it clean as well.

“It sounds like a pain in the ass.” Levi said as he let her shave his legs, then lather them in lotion, leaving them perfectly smooth.

“It pretty much is.” She replied, moving to get him a bra with pads in, teaching him to put it on. She then helped him into a pair of panties, then a proper yellow day dress with small white flowers on it.

Levi let Hanji help him into some nylon stockings, then a pair of Mary Jane’s with a bit of a high heel on them. She then led him to a bathroom and taught him how to put on makeup to make himself look more feminine. She then gave him a black wig with nice ringlets, helping him to put it on.

“You actually make a pretty nice woman, by the way.” She said, impressed at her own work, as she looked the smaller man up and down. He wasn’t exactly as curvy as most women were, though he was still thin and the dress didn’t look half bad on him. “Now, what name were you going to use instead of Rivaille?”

“I was planning on using Lucie.” He replied to her honestly, pulling on a pair of rather dainty white gloves onto his hands.

“Good. Remember to raise your voice like a taught you when talking to anyone other than Eren.” She replied, taking the other’s arm and moving to lead him out of the room and up to the main deck where Eren and Erwin were waiting with the bags.

Eren blinked when he saw Hanji beaming proudly as she walked on with Levi, the pair walking up to them. “Wow, you look good.” He said with awe.

“Don’t push your luck, brat. You got the rings?” Levi replied testily.

Eren nodded and smiled a bit to himself as he removed Levi’s glove to push on the simple wedding ring onto his finger, then putting the other on his own.

“Remember, I’m Lucie, your wife. You’re only half German and you went to medical school before getting drafted.” Levi went over to Eren, smoothing out the collar of his shirt.

Eren nodded and let the other man make sure he was meticulously clean, then turning around as the Statue of Liberty came into view, signaling the beginning of their new lives together.


	12. America

Levi kept quiet and silent as he and Eren walked through the large building to get registered as immigrants, gently holding onto the other’s arm as they walked. When they got to the counter, Eren handed the man their papers, letting him look them over.

“Eren and Lucie Jaeger, is it? It says here you were in the German army. Do you share any Nazi sympathies at all?” The man at the desk asked, his eyes practically boring into Eren’s.

“I’m half German, she’s all French. I was drafted to the army, sir, during medical school. I share no sympathies with the Third Reich whatsoever.” Eren replied to the other man sincerely.

He nodded and went back to looking through their papers. “Alright, you’re in then. You’re not going to find any jobs here in New York, though. This place is way too crowded, even with the barriers on immigration. There’s a bus station nearby though, if you wish to move further to Pennsylvania or Ohio.” The man told them, handing them their papers back.

Eren nodded and smiled gently to the other man, keeping close to Levi as they walked out of the building and onto a ferry to get to the main city.

“What do you want to do? Should we move out of this city as fast as possible?” Eren asked curiously, watching from the railing as the boat moved from the dock through the water.

“I think we should. I think we should listen to that man when he said to look for a job and home elsewhere.” Levi replied to him with a nod, making sure to keep his voice in a whisper so only Eren could hear how masculine it was.

Eren nodded and smiled a bit to the other, watching the black curls of his wigs blow a bit with the wind, his dress clinging to his side. “Pennsylvania or Ohio, then?” he asked curiously, gently taking the other’s hand in his own.

Levi looked over at the other and smiled softly, giving his hand a little squeeze. “How about Ohio? It’ll be a bit less crowded.” He replied to the other man.

Eren nodded and intertwined their fingers together gently, smiling to the other. “Ohio sounds wonderful.” He replied before wrapping an arm around the smaller male’s shoulders and holding him close.

It didn’t take long to get to the mainland, where they immediately got off and to a train station to take them to Cincinnati. They got their tickets and boarded within an hour, sitting together in the seat as they rode.

“Do you want to live in the city when we get there, or do you want to find a place in a suburb?” Eren asked curiously as he gently traced circles on the back of the other’s hand.

“Let’s live in a suburb where it’s quieter and nicer.” Levi replied to him, keeping close to the other as the scenery rolled along beside them. It would be just under a day when they got to Cincinnati, so they’d have to spend the night on the train and get there in the morning.

Eren nodded and smiled softly to Levi as they rode together, getting them some sandwiches when the cart came around for lunch and dinner. As it got later, he let Levi use his shoulder as a pillow before falling asleep on him. Yawning, he fell asleep as well, keeping close to the other man.

He woke up the next morning at about seven when a woman with a cart of muffins and coffee came by. He smiled and gently woke up Levi, shaking his shoulder gently. After getting them both a muffin and cup of coffee, he wrapped an arm around the other contently. “We should be in Cincinnati in an hour or so.” Eren said to the other as they ate.

Levi nodded to him and smiled a bit before yawning. “It feels good to be out of Europe. It feels a lot safer here.”

“It really does.” Eren replied with a nod and a smile to the other man. “I’ve got just enough money to get us a small house, but I’ll have to get a job quickly.”

Levi nodded and smiled softly. “I rather wish I could get a job and help you, but people don’t like ladies working.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be successful at home.” Eren replied to him with a smile to the other man, gently stroking his cheek and kissing his nose.

Levi smiled softly to the other man, keeping close to Eren as the other kissed and held him close while they ate their breakfasts. He leaned into Eren as they rode through and into the city in the train, getting to the station a bit later. Eren took their trunk and lead Levi off the train to get them both a room in a hotel.

Once there, Eren got them settled in the room before moving to start looking for house listings, spending the rest of the night on that and scheduling a showing for the next day. Levi kept to himself as Eren worked, listening to the radio in the room contently and relaxing on the bed easily, having taken off the heels and his wig.

“I bet it’s not easy to be a woman.” Eren commented as he finished on the phone, sitting on the bed next to the other man, hugging him close to himself.

“It’s not. I fucking hate those shoes.” Levi replied, pointing over to the shoes and leaning into Eren, his head resting on the other’s shoulder.

“You only have to wear them when we’re out together. Soon we’ll have a home of our own and we’ll be all settled. Don’t worry too much about it.”

Levi nodded and looked over to Eren, spending the rest of the day with him contently until falling asleep with him in the hotel bed, falling asleep to the sound of the other man whispering sweet nothings to him.


	13. Petra

It ended up taking much longer than they’d anticipated getting a house and a job. Eren ended up having to get a job at the local hospital before they could afford a house in the suburb. So, they had to live in the hotel for a few months until they could finally afford a small house in the suburbs, glad the prices were rather low, seeing as the banks were pushing people to move into the new neighborhoods.

They found a rather cookie cutter house that looked like every other house in the neighborhood, though theirs was a rather light blue while the house to their right was light yellow and the one on the left was beige. They bought the house after deciding they liked it enough, moving their things into the furnished home the day after and checking out of the hotel.

Moving in wasn’t too hard, seeing as they really didn’t have too many belongings to start off with. Once they were settled in, they got some groceries to fill their new refrigerator and pantry.

Word of the new couple in the neighborhood had spread like wildfire. Eren had gone off to work, leaving Levi at home to do as he pleased. He looked up as he heard a knock on the door at around ten in the morning; quickly moving to make sure his wig and makeup were believable. He then opened the door, putting on a pleasant smile to the small woman on the other side.

“Hello! I heard you and your husband were new to the neighborhood. I just wanted to welcome you here.” She said with a smile to him, passing him a plate of cookies.

Levi took the plate from her. “Thank you very much. Please, come in.” he replied, making sure to make his voice effeminate. He held the door open for the woman with the strawberry blonde hair she’d done in rather large, loose, curls.

She smiled to him happily as he set the plate down on the coffee table of the small house. “I’m Petra, Petra Bossard. I live just two doors down with my husband.” She introduced happily.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Lucie.” Levi replied with a pleasant smile. “Please, sit down for a bit. I can make us tea, if you’d like.” He added, remembering what Hanji had told him about being sociable. He couldn’t help but feel awkward about it, though.

She nodded and smiled happily to him, sitting on the couch easily. “Thank you. So, what does your husband do?”

“Eren’s a doctor.” Levi replied with a small smile to her as he went to work on the tea, trying to ignore how much his feet were killing him in those high-heeled shoes.

“Oh, that must be nice! That’s a great job for a man, they make a lot of money to support their families.”

Levi nodded and smiled back at her. “Yes, it is nice. He makes the money, I keep the house intact.”

Petra nodded and watched as he made the tea. She couldn’t help but feel as if something were a bit off with the other, though she couldn’t set her finger on it. Everything seemed perfectly fine.

“That’s nice. My Arulo’s a lawyer. He likes griping about stupid people in court over dinner.” She said with a giggle.

“That’s another good job. The world needs good attorneys.” Levi replied as he waited for the water to boil, turning back around to the other.

“So, how long have you and Eren been married?”

“About two months now.” Levi had just pulled something off the top of his head.

“Oh, newlyweds. That’s nice. I suppose you two will be trying for a little one soon?”

Levi blinked, briefly assessing the situation and trying to figure out what to say. “Ah, I’d love to be a mother. Sadly, though, I can’t. I’m sterile.” He replied, figuring it wasn’t a total lie. He truly couldn’t have kids, though he didn’t really think he wanted any.

Petra blinked at that. “Ah, that’s too bad. Well, there’s always adoption.” She replied positively.

Levi couldn’t help but rather like how the other seemed so pleasant and positive. He decided that, if he were heterosexual, he’d want a wife like her. “Yes, I suppose so. Though, that can take quite a while.”

She nodded and smiled a bit. “Yes, I suppose it is rather tedious. Whatever makes you two happy.”

Levi nodded and looked back as the water began to boil. He poured it into the two cups with the tea bags in them. “What about you? Are there any children in the picture, yet? And will you take the bag in or out?”

“Keep the bag in, I like it strong. Actually, I’m expecting right now.” She replied with a happy smile, a hand resting on her abdomen. “I only just told Arulo about it last week. You should have seen his face, it was priceless.” She laughed, taking her teacup.

Levi nodded and smiled a bit as he sat down on the couch next to her, crossing his legs and sipping at his tea.

“Oh, would you and Eren like to come over for dinner tonight? Sorry, I know it’s rather short notice.”

“No, it’s fine. We’d love to. He usually get’s home around four-thirty.” Levi replied with a small smile to her.

“That’s wonderful. You could come over at five-thirty, then. Don’t worry about bringing anything; it’ll be our treat. Unless, of course, you want to bring a deck of cards or two; Arulo loves playing cards when we have company over.” She said happily.

Levi nodded and smiled a bit to her. “Sure, alright. If you don’t mind, there’s a game I used to play with my family a lot. I could teach it to you.”

“That sounds lovely.” She replied, sipping her tea.

They spent the next hour drinking their tea and making small talk with her about various things from his French accent to their preferred flavor of cake. Levi took off his shoes almost immediately after Petra left, then the wig, shaking out his natural hair.

He was lounging on the couch, listening to the radio when Eren walked in.

“Lucie, I’m home!” The other announced happily.

“Pipe down, idiot, I’m right here.”

Eren smiled and laughed a bit, walking over to the other and kissing the top of his head, spying the plate of cookies. “Get bored and decide to cook?” he asked curiously, taking a cookie and sitting next to the other.

“No, our new neighbor brought them over. Also, we’re having dinner at their place in an hour. We’ll bring two decks of cards, since I’m going to teach you and them how to play a game called Nerts.” Levi said to the other easily, picking up a cookie as well and eating it easily. “Damn, these are good.”

Eren smiled and nodded, laughing a bit and wrapping an arm around Levi lovingly, pulling the other close. “What’d you do all day?”

“I cleaned a bit and a lady from a couple doors over came over and we had tea.” Levi replied easily, leaning into Eren.

Eren nodded and gently stroked Levi’s hair, relaxing with him easily and listening to the music. After a bit, the other smirked and pulled Levi up to his feet with him. He then pulled the shorter man close to himself, starting to dance with him to the music, laughing happily at the shock on the other’s face as they started to swing dance together in the living room, spinning around and around.

When they were about thirty minutes from leaving, Levi put the wig and shoes back on, perfected his makeup and grabbed the decks of cards.

Eren helped the other put on his coat and pull the hair of the wig from the collar. He then took the other’s hand and walked out of the small house with him, his arm wrapped around his waist as they walked to the Bossard house.


	14. The Dinner

Levi kept close to Eren as they walked over to their see their neighbors, knocking at the door.

Petra opened the door for them and grinned widely. “Lucie! Come in, both of you.” She said happily to them, hugging her friend gently before standing aside to let them in and be a good hostess. “Oh, this is my husband Arulo,” she said, remembering to introduce the new couple to him.

“How do you do?” Eren asked politely, shaking the other man’s hand.

“Very well, thank you. And yourself?” The taller man replied.

“I’m doing rather well, too. We’re just about settled in here.” Eren replied with a smile. “Oh, may I introduce my wife, Lucie.” He said, resting a hand on Levi’s back.

Levi smiled pleasantly at Arulo as he took his hand and politely kissed it.

“The pleasure is all mine, Madame.”  The man said to him politely before Petra took his other hand and whisked him away to the kitchen to chat and finish everything.

Eren smiled and laughed a bit as they both went off to the kitchen, leaving him alone with Arulo. “I hope you don’t mind, Lucie seemed rather intent on teaching us all a card game her parents taught her.”

“No, that’s completely fine, don’t worry.” Arulo replied with a shake of his head and a smile to Eren. “So, you two are all settled in, then?”

“We just got finished settling, yes.” Eren replied with a nod.

“Any plans to have children as of yet?”

Eren blinked at that one and thought quickly. “Oh, um, Lucie’s sterile. She won’t be getting pregnant any time soon.”

“Oh. Well, there’s always adoption.” Arulo said, a bit awkwardly with a small shrug.

“I’ll have to talk to her about it.” Eren said with a nod, smiling softly at the thought of coming home to see Levi cradling a small baby in his arms and be able to boast about his perfect ‘wife’ and their lovely child.

Levi helped Petra out in the kitchen with the steak and potatoes they’d be having. He listened easily as the other talked to him about nearly everything under the sun as they cooked together, serving the food when they’d finished with everything. If there had been one thing he’d learned about Petra, it was that she absolutely loved to gossip to anyone who would listen.

They carried the food out together, and then seated themselves at the table with the other two.

“There you are. Have fun in there?” Eren asked Levi as the other sat down next to him, straightening his skirt a bit.

“As much fun as anyone can have in a kitchen.” Levi replied to him easily with a shrug.

Eren nodded and smiled a bit, kissing the other’s temple softly before they all folded their hands and silently said grace together. He then moved to start helping himself to the food.

“So, Lucie, you’re from France, right?” Arulo asked curiously, looking over at the woman across the table.

“Yes, I am. I lived in Paris when he came to power.” Levi replied to him, not wanting to say the dictator’s name at the table, as he couldn’t help but equate the man with pure evil.

“I hope this is all over soon.,” Petra piped up, looking over at Levi. “I can’t imagine what you had to go through over there with Hitler and the camps and –-“

“Don’t talk about that. I don’t want to remember that place or those damned soldiers.” Levi said to her rather harshly.

Petra was taken aback by the sudden harshness in the other’s voice. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t really think before I spoke.”

Levi nodded and looked down at his food. “My apologies, I don’t think I’ll be able to eat tonight.” He said softly to the couple.

Eren looked over at Levi and sighed a bit, suddenly remembering that there was more to the other than just their past lives in the Survey Corps. They’d both had separate, totally different lives that time around. He didn’t like to think about what would have happened to his corporal had he never found the other. He was so used to seeing him confident and strong. Now, though, when they talked about the Nazis and the concentration camps, the other looked genuinely terrified. Eren realized then that he’d totally forgotten the other man was simply human.

Petra looked at her and said nothing, nodding. “It’s understandable, Lucie.” She replied softly.

The room remained quiet and rather awkward for the rest of the meal, no one saying anything and trying to think of something to say to end the awkward silence.

“Um, Lucie, Arulo was  saying how we could probably adopt a baby. If you want to, I mean.” Eren said awkwardly, taking hold of Levi’s hand gently.

Levi looked over at Eren, nodding. “Petra was saying that, as well. I guess it’s a valid idea. I feel like I’d make a shitty mother, though.”

Eren gave Levi’s hand a gentle squeeze and kissed the other’s cheek. “You would not. You’re better than you give yourself credit for.” He replied stubbornly.

Levi fought the urge to give Eren a shove and call him a little shit, just looking over at the other. “I suppose we could look into it. We’d have to get a ton of stuff, though.”

Eren nodded and smiled. He couldn’t help but imagine life with Levi and a baby of their own. They’d be able to cuddle and pamper the little thing, showering it with love at all times. They’d take the little one to the park and he’d take pictures of Levi and their kid and brag about his perfect little family to all the nurses and doctors at the hospital who would listen. Everything would be absolutely perfect.

Soon enough, they finished eating and Petra cleared away all the plates while Levi went to get out the decks of cards, handing one to each person playing and keeping one for himself. He then sat down and explained the rules of the game to them all, teaching them how it was practically solitaire but far more competitive and intense.

Soon enough, they began to play, the room filling with laughs, cusses, and smiles. Petra looked over at Lucie at one point and couldn’t help but do a double take. She looked at the other woman and couldn’t help but swear she’d seen her as a man with the same dark hair that had been cut short in an undercut. She knew for sure that she’d seen those hooded, narrow eyes and thin eyebrows before. It felt as if it had been many, many years, but she’d definitely seen her friends face before on a man’s body. She’d never really taken the time to analyze the other woman’s body, though when she finally did, she found that she was very small, the heels adding a couple inches. Lucie was thin and didn’t exactly have much of a woman’s form besides the small breasts that showed she was female. Her hips weren’t wide and her waist wasn’t really any smaller than her hips. If it hadn’t been for the breasts, Petra would have sworn that Lucie was a man in a wig and dress and makeup.

She turned back to the game, trying to forget the images of her friend that came to mind. She couldn’t help but picture her as a man in a grey button down shirt, a cravat around his neck, and a scowl on his face.

Eren smiled a bit, bidding Arulo and Petra a good night when it came time to go back to their home. Levi smiled softly to them to be friendly, keeping close as Eren wrapped an arm around his waist as they walked back to their home.

“So, adoption. Are we going to look into it, Corporal?” Eren asked softly as they walked together easily.

“I don’t see why not. We’re going to be here for a while, so it might be nice to have a kid.” Levi replied with a shrug as they walked back to the house. Once the door was closed, the smaller male took off the heels, then the wig on his head, shaking out his short hair.

“Hey, so the job is paying super well. I think I’m going to get us an automobile tomorrow after work. A nice red one, how does that sound?” Eren asked curiously, wrapping his arms around Levi’s waist.

Levi nodded and smiled a bit to Eren. “I can start planning the nursery, then, while you’re gone.”

“So we’re going to adopt a baby?” Eren asked with a small, hopeful smile to the other man.

“Yeah, we’ll get the little shit.” Levi replied, looking over at the other man as he leaned back against him easily.

Eren smiled to the shorter male and moved to kiss his lips lovingly and deeply, holding him close to himself tightly. “I love you, Corporal.”

“I guess I love you, too, Eren.”


	15. Looking Up

Eren smiled the next morning as he went off to work at the hospital, feeling more than great.

“Good morning, Eren!” One of the other doctors he carpooled with said happily. The smaller blonde smiled over at Eren happily.

Eren smiled back to him, having become fast friends with the other doctor. “Morning, Armin.”

“You seem pretty happy today. What’s up?” Armin asked as he drove to take them both to the hospital.

“A lot of things. Lucie and I’ve decided we’re going to adopt a kid, so she’ll be working on planning out the nursery today. Then, after work I’m gong to buy us an automobile.”

Armin smiled a bit to the other as he drove, keeping his eyes on the road. “Well, congratulations.  You’ll make a good dad.” He said honestly as they got to the hospital.

Eren was happy and perky all through the day until the end when he went out to the car dealership, getting a red Chevrolet he figured would be good for their small family. He drove it home proudly, parking in the driveway and honking the horn when he saw Levi in the window.

Levi gasped and jumped about a foot in the air when he heard the honking at him, looking up at Eren through the window. He frowned when he saw Eren sitting in the front of a red Chevrolet, laughing his ass off. He promptly showed the other his middle finger from the window of the living room. He then reluctantly moved to put on his heels and walk out to the other. “Are you trying to make me shit myself?”

Eren smiled and couldn’t help but laugh more, much to Levi’s annoyance. “Sorry, sorry, honey. Come on, get in. We’ll take a nice drive around town.”

Levi sighed and walked around to the other side, sliding into the seat next to Eren easily. He then watched as the other maneuvered out of the driveway, one hand on the steering wheel, the other arm wrapped around Levi to hold him close as they drove through the town and into the nearby city easily.

“There’s the orphanage. Just think, our baby’s in there, waiting for us to come and get it.” He pointed out to the other easily.

Levi looked over at the building and nodded. “I’ll have to show you the nursery plans when we get home.” He replied easily.

Eren nodded and smiled to him. “I’m excited to see what you came up with. So, other than that, what’d you do all day? Surely, you must have been lonely without me?” he asked cheekily.

“Actually, no, Petra and I spent some time together for a while. She was saying how Mrs. Jones - you know, the woman who lives down the street – apparently has an intuition that can count as a sixth sense. Oh well, though, Petra likes to gossip.”

“So do you, apparently.”

“Shut up.”

Eren laughed and smiled to Levi at a stop light, kissing his cheek gently and lovingly. “Don’t worry about Mrs. Jones. She seemed old, crotchety, and off her rocker to me. Even if she tells people you’re not female, no one will ever believe her.”

Levi looked over at Eren and nodded, sighing softly. The words didn’t really help, though, as he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the woman’s intuition told her he was a man. If people did believe her, both he and Eren would end up in jail for it, then possibly even executed.

He frowned a bit, shaking the thoughts from his head. Eren was right, though. She was an elderly, paranoid woman. No one would ever believe her.

Eren smiled a bit as they drove back to their home and parked in the driveway easily. He then walked out with Levi, keeping his arm around the smaller man. “Let’s see those plans of yours, honey.” He said as they stepped inside.

Levi nodded and moved to the kitchen to get the crude sketch he’d made. He was in no way an artist. All the furniture in the room had been represented by rectangles or squares. He’d included a box labeled ‘crib’ in one corner, then another box next to the crib labeled ‘arm chair’ and others labeled ‘dresser’, ‘changing station’, and  ‘bookshelf’.

Eren looked down at the plan when the shorter man handed it to him and smiled a bit. “I think it’s a good plan. It’s nice and simple.” He said, handing it back to him.

“We need to decide whether we’re getting a boy or a girl, though. Then, we’ll have to figure out a name for the kid.” Levi said with a nod, moving to sit down at the table with a small sigh.

Eren nodded and moved to sit down next to the other, gently taking hold of the other man’s hand, smiling softly at the feeling of his smooth skin. “What would you rather have? A little boy or a little girl?”

Levi thought about that one for a while. A little girl would likely be better behaved than a boy. He’d always rather liked the idea of a sweet, cute, little girl in the house, helping him out with the cleaning and being able to spoil her with getting her pretty little dresses and brushing out her hair.

“I think I’d rather have a girl, honestly. What about you?” Levi replied after a bit of thought, looking over at Eren.

Eren smiled a bit to Levi, keeping hold of the other’s hand, rubbing circles onto the back of it gently. “I think a little girl would be nice. It’s settled, then. We’ll get a daughter.”

Levi smiled a bit and moved to kiss Eren’s lips softly, keeping close to the other man. Finally, everything was nice and normal. They were together posing as a married couple and would soon be getting a daughter to join their small family. Titans didn’t plague them anymore. Everything was nice and peaceful with the only drama being the petty little things within their neighborhood. Soon they’d have a baby girl and they’d be totally accepted into the little society of married couples with kids.

Eren smiled and kissed Levi back gently, a hand moving to rest at the nape of his neck underneath the hair of the wig. He then moved the hand to the other’s forehead, taking the wig off his head and setting it aside so he could run his fingers through the other’s shorter black hair and over his undercut gently.

Levi smiled a bit as he felt the wig come off easily, scooting a bit closer to Eren as the other played with his natural hair.

Eren felt Levi shift closer to him and decided that, since they were ‘married’, it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit bold. So, he wrapped an arm around Levi’s waist and pulled him onto his lap easily, holding him against himself as he deepened the kiss. He felt the smaller male’s hands rest on his chest, his soft lips working in perfect harmony with his own, their tongues soon meeting and gently massaging each other.

Levi was the one to pull away first, panting a bit. He pressed his forehead to Eren’s gently and kept close to the other. “Maybe we should head to bed. It’s getting late.” He said softly.

Eren nodded and kissed Levi once more before moving to stand up with him and retire to their bedroom for the night. He watched as Levi slipped out of the dress and pantyhose before washing the makeup off his face, removing the illusion that he was female. Both in their underwear, they slipped into the bed together, their arms wrapping around each other’s bodies easily to hold each other close to himself.

Levi watched Eren fall asleep easily and closed his own eyes, though he couldn’t get over the feeling that things were going too well. They were a normal couple, soon to have a family. They had a nice house with a nice lawn and a nice car and nice neighbors. Knowing his own foul luck, he couldn’t get over the feeling that something horrid was going to happen to them.

Eren had reassured him not to worry. The people they had to worry about were old and not easily believable. They’d be perfectly fine. Levi sighed a bit and fell asleep at long last, truly hoping that would be the case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about that time! I'm planning on them getting their kid in a chapter or two, so if anyone has any name suggestions, that would be highly appreciated! Thanks for the continued support of this story, you're all great!


	16. Carla

The next about six months was spent getting everything in order for the adoption. This meant all the background checks from the orphanage, a lot of paperwork for the couple, and furnishing the nursery for the baby girl.

“I think it looks good.” Levi said as he set a stuffed bear into the pretty little crib for the baby girl. “We’ve got all the bottles and food and diapers and all that shit.  Now, all we need is a name.”

Eren looked over at the other man and nodded. “We probably should figure that one out since we’re picking her up tomorrow.”

Levi nodded and moved to sit down on the sofa, grabbing a notebook and a pen so they could make a list of potential names. Immediately, he wrote down Amelie, Vera, Lynn, and Alice. 

Eren sat down next to him easily, watching him write the names. “Hey, um, could her first name be Carla? That was my mom’s name.” He asked softly, moving to wrap an arm around Levi’s shoulders.

Levi looked over at Eren and sighed a bit before nodding. “Sure. Her first name will be Carla. Now all we need is a middle name.”

Eren nodded and moved to add the names Hope and Renee to their growing list of options.

The couple looked over the list together, mentally testing out each one with the first name Carla.

“Personally, I think it’s between Carla Lynn and Carla Renee for me.” Levi said after a bit of thought, looking over at Eren.

“Yeah, they both sound best.  How about Carla Renee? That way we have a touch of French for your side and my mom’s name.” Eren replied to him with a nod and a small smile.

Levi nodded and smiled a bit to Eren. “Carla Renee Jaeger it is, then.” He replied, moving to set the notebook and pen aside and relax back into the couch, crossing his legs. “Just out of curiosity, do you think we’ll ever tell her that Mommy’s not really a mommy?”

Eren looked over at him and sighed a bit. “I think we’ll have to sooner or later, but when she’s older and can understand. I think she’s about eight months old now, so we’ve got some time before we have to worry about that.”

Levi nodded and yawned a bit, checking the time to see that it was only seven in the evening. “Alright. What should we do for the rest of the night until we got to bed?”

“I have no idea. Let’s listen to the radio.” Eren replied, reaching across the other male to get to the radio and turn it on, tuning it to a station and smiling at the sound of the music. On a whim, he stood up and smiled down at Levi, holding a hand out. “Can I have this dance?”

“Jaeger, you know I don’t dance.” Levi said, looking up at the other.

“It’s never to late to learn.”

Levi sighed and reluctantly moved to take Eren’s hand in his own, letting the other pull him up to his feet. He held onto the other’s hand as he felt Eren wrap an arm around his waist securely. Eren started the dance with just a gentle, swaying motion to the music, holding the other close as they swayed and slowdanced together.

Slowly, Eren felt Levi get the hang of the dance and began to pick it up a bit, starting to swing dance with the other as the music picked up, spinning him out then back in, holding him close all the while and admiring the way the skirt of the other’s dress seemed to open out as he twirled like a blooming flower.

They danced together like that for a couple hours until they got tired and turned off the radio to retire to their room. They went through the regular routine before stripping down to their underwear and climbing into the bed together. Eren held Levi close to himself, stroking the other’s hair and lulling him to sleep until he heard the other’s breathing even out. He soon fell asleep as well, dreaming of their little girl with the messy brunette curls smiling up at them from the floor where she played with her stuffed animals, babbling to them and calling them Mama and Dada.

Soon enough, though, the happy dream turned into a nightmare.

It was nighttime and the house was surrounded by police cars and appalled neighbors. He was holding Levi close and Levi was holding Carla tightly to his chest as the police barged into the house, shouting at them. One of the policemen tore Levi away from him, then another tore Carla out of Levi’s arms. He watched in awe and shock as the other male began screaming in French, trying desperately to get the baby back.

Then the scene changed. He was standing next to Levi again, both of them in plain gray clothes, their wrists cuffed behind their backs. A man of some sort of authority asked them something incoherently, but all Eren could hear was his heart pounding in his ears. He looked over to see Levi smiling softly up at him, his mouth forming the words ‘I love you’. Then the other leaned up and kissed his lips fiercely for everyone to see. Ropes were lowered around their necks and-

Eren bolted awake at that point, panting with a cold sweat on his brow. He looked around and relaxed when he found himself still in his house and next to Levi. It had only been a nightmare, like the ones he’d always had as a child, especially after his mother had died of breast cancer.

He remembered waking up screaming the night after she’d died, the image of a large smiling face burned into his skull, blood spattered across it’s large, horrific teeth.

He shook his head to make himself forget, looking over at Levi and relaxing when he saw the other sleeping peacefully next to him. Everything was going to be all right; they were both fine and safe. He slipped out of the bed and moved to make himself a glass of warm milk looking into Carla’s nursery. He smiled a bit, picturing their baby girl asleep in the pretty white crib, looking like a little angel. Soon enough, he’d be a father with Levi. He couldn’t wait to take pictures of Levi and their kid and show them off to all the other doctors and nurses at the hospital. He’d talk about his perfect family to anyone who’d listen.

He smiled when he finished his milk, moving to slip back into the bed with Levi and cuddling him again. Thankfully, he didn’t dream for the rest of the night.

Levi smiled softly when he woke before Eren, as per usual, moving to get himself dressed and ready for the big day, making himself a cup of black tea and drinking it as he heard Eren getting up. The younger male wasn’t exactly the quietest about getting up, always making odd noises as he stretched that could be taken as obscene. He smiled a bit as he continued to drink his tea easily, watching Eren walk out and get a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, Eren.” He said to the other easily.

Eren smiled a bit and sat next to Levi, kissing his lips softly, rather liking how they always seemed to taste like mint and black tea. “Good morning, Levi.” He replied easily.

“Why don’t we get ourselves ready soon? We’ve got a big day today.”

Eren nodded in agreement, finishing his coffee as Levi finished his tea and they both moved to get dressed for the day, Levi taking the longest of the two since he had to put on so much more than Eren did, including makeup and shoving fake breasts down the front of his dress and onto his chest.

He pulled on a pair of pantyhose, fighting with the wretched things before finishing and slipping on his heels and his wig, straightening out the curls easily. “There, we’re good. Let’s get our baby girl.” Levi said to Eren with a happy smile, moving to walk out to the car with him and sliding in.

Eren smiled and nodded, moving to drive them both into the city of Cincinnati and to the orphanage.

Levi got out when they’d parked in front of the brick building, moving to straighten out his dress before walking up to the door with Eren’s hand in his own. Eren knocked on the door and only a minute later, a young woman opened the door and smiled at them.

“Hello, again, Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger. Come in.” She said, standing aside to let them in. “We’re all ready for you. I think she’s pretty excited, too.”

The woman led them up to a nursery full of babies where their daughter was dressed and grinning at them happily as she cooed, another worker holding the girl close as she eagerly reached out for the young couple.

Levi took their baby girl and held her close, stroking her hair gently as Eren dealt with the paperwork and naming their kid officially.

“Little Carla Renee Jaeger. Hello, honey.” He said softly to her, poking her tiny little nose and feeling a small smile spread across his lips as she grinned to him and cooed happily.


	17. Visitors

Eren smiled over at Levi and their new baby girl when he finished the paperwork. He couldn’t help but admire the other man, especially with the way the light shone through the window and onto his face and wig, his dark eyelashes casting a shadow on his cheeks, the sunlight making him look as if he were glowing. Eren couldn’t help but wonder if that was what an angel looked like.

He walked over to Levi and Carla, wrapping an arm around the other man’s waist. “Hey, you two, ready head home?” he asked softly, stroking their new daughter’s hair.

Levi nodded to Eren, rather surprised at how quickly he’d become attached to the little girl. He’d never once thought of himself as being a parent. He’d never even thought he’d be a good one; with the way he knew he’d treated the teenagers in his squad. A baby was different though, he supposed. A baby needed more things than a teenager did and was more dependent.

Levi smiled softly as he heard Carla babbling in his arms easily, grabbing onto his dress as they walked down the stairs and back out to the car. He supposed the little girl was rather cute and seemingly easy to get along with.

Eren held open the door for Levi once they got to the car, letting him slide in with their new daughter. He then walked around and got in on the other side, kissing both Levi and Carla on the temples before driving them back out of the city to their suburban home. He smiled as he listened to the little girl in Levi’s arms as she babbled and cooed to them happily.

“That’s very interesting, Carla.” Eren said to her with a smile, pretending they were having an intelligible conversation. “What happened next, honey?”

Carla looked at him and blinked before squealing and wiggling around in Levi’s arms happily. She then continued to babble on to them and Eren continued to talk to her.

Levi couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow when they got home to find another car out in front of it. He slid out of the car with their baby girl, moving to walk over to the car, his hooded eyes widening when the door of the vehicle suddenly opened, making him back up rather quickly.

Hanji grinned widely at him as she got out of the right side of the car, Erwin coming out of the left. “We were wondering where you two were!” She said, slapping Levi’s back happily.

Levi sighed at that, smiling softly when Carla reached forward and grabbed Hanji’s glasses off her face, gumming at one of the earpieces.

“What are you two doing here?” Eren asked, walking over to the group easily, an arm wrapping around Levi’s waist.

Hanji was attempting to try and take her glasses back from the baby, who seemed intent on keeping them for a while. She smiled a bit and sighed. “I guess I don’t need those back right away. We came to check in on you two.”

“Why don’t we go inside.” Erwin said to the group, who all agreed. Once inside, Levi immediately kicked off the heels, not caring that it wasn’t really the most polite thing for him to be walking around in pantyhose when they had guests.

“Go ahead and sit down.” He said to the pair, gesturing to the couch. He looked down at Carla when she began to squirm in his arms and whine. He sighed and set her down, watching as she began to crawl around and explore the house.

“So, how have things been with you two? I’m assuming pretty good since there’s a kid in the picture now?” Hanji asked, moving to get her glasses when Carla finally let them go and abandoned them on the floor when Levi got out a stuffed duck they’d bought for their daughter, giving it to her to cuddle.

“Things are going really well. I have a job at the hospital as a doctor now, and Levi’s got a friend he spends a lot of time with.” Eren replied to her, taking a seat in an armchair as Levi took the one next to him easily. “Everything’s really great.”

Erwin nodded and smiled a bit at that, watching as Carla stayed close to them, babbling as she tugged her duck around while crawling close to the group and laying down on the floor with the duck.

Levi sighed and moved to pick her up into his arms, duck and all. “Don’t sleep on the floor, baby girl, that’s dirty.”

Eren smiled a bit at that, figuring some things never changed. He guessed that, in whatever life, the corporal would always be a neat freak.

“No one’s been harsh to you or raises any alarms?” Erwin asked them worriedly; knowing the position they were in was a dangerous one. “If there is a chance that one person in this town poses a threat, we can get you three out of here and up to Canada in no time.”

Eren shook his head. “We’re fine, really. Besides, it would be terribly inconvenient to just drop everything we’ve gained here to move up to Canada. We’ve got lives here now.”

Erwin nodded and sighed a bit. “Alright. I’d just for something to happen to you two when it could have been prevented.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be careful. We’re always pretty good at that.” Levi said to the blonde as he cradled the sleeping girl in his arms.

Hanji nodded. “You’re probably right. And who knows? Maybe nothing will happen. You two are good at keeping up the image and you seem to be blending in easily.”

Erwin nodded to her in agreement. “She’s right, I suppose. Everything will be perfectly fine.”

Eren smiled at that and nodded, looking over at Levi and little Carla, a bit surprised at how quickly the other man had gotten attached to the little girl. The dark haired male was seemingly perfectly content to hold the baby in his arms, wiggling his finger around her face and poking her nose every so often while the baby tried to grab onto it. He couldn’t help but smile at the scene when the baby grabbed the finger finally, grinning and squealing triumphantly.

Levi found himself only focusing on the little girl in his arms, as if nothing else mattered in the world. Little Carla had enchanted him and had managed to get him wrapped around her tiny finger right from the start. He’d never once thought of himself as a father, let alone a ‘mother’. He’d always known his temperament wasn’t really the best, especially since one always had to be patient and gentle with children to make sure they grew and developed in the right ways. He wanted to be a good parent so that their baby would be able to be proud of her parents as she grew up. He wanted her to be able to point to them when she was with her friends and tell them all about how she had the best parents in the world.

He watched as Carla yawned and held her duck close to herself, soon falling asleep in his arms tiredly. He considered putting her in her crib, but after looking down at her and realizing how cute she looked sleeping in his arms, he decided he wanted to hold her for a while longer.


	18. The End

Years passed without a hitch. Levi and Eren often wondered what they’d been so worried about. They’d assimilated into their neighborhood seamlessly, and soon enough 1940 turned to 1945. When France was liberated in 1944, Levi insisted on opening a bottle of wine they had and celebrating with Eren after Carla had gone to bed. The war was getting close to being over, the pair could feel it in their bones.

Eren smiled a bit as he gently fixed his daughter’s white dress, Levi brushing through her brunette curls until they were soft and smooth. The five-year-old girl sat happily and let her parents fawn over her as she swung her small legs in the chair.

“Alright, she’s ready for her first day of kindergarten.” Levi decided, moving to pick her up into his arms, kissing her small cheek.

“Yes, she is. We’d better leave now, so she won’t be late.” Eren agreed, moving to stand up and walk with Levi to their car. Carla sat in the back easily while her parents sat up in the front together, her father holding her mother’s hand while his other hand held onto the steering wheel while they drove. She was happy her mother and father loved each other so much. She was happy they loved her just as much.

Levi sighed a bit and frowned when they got to the school, a bit nervous about leaving their daughter with a stranger for seven hours of the day, five days a week. It was mandatory, though. He got out with Eren and helped Carla out of the car, taking one of her hands while Eren took the other and they walked in with their daughter to the building. Many other couples were there with their own children, dropping them off.

“Alright, Carla. You be a good little lady, alright? Keep yourself clean, don’t get too loud, and keep your knees close together when you sit so no boys can see your underwear.” Levi said to her, crouching down on the ground in front of the little girl, kissing her forehead.

Eren nodded and crouched down next to Levi in front of their small daughter. “She’s right, honey. Mother knows best. Be a good little girl like you always are and don’t be afraid to make some friends.” He crooned to her happily.

Carla nodded and smiled, moving to hug her mother and father tightly and lovingly. She then waved to them when her teacher lead her into the classroom with the other children.

Levi watched the little girl leave, looking over at Eren as the other wrapped an arm around his waist, walking out with him. “Are you sure she’s going to be all right?” he asked, looking up at the brunet man.

“She’ll be fine, don’t worry. For a little girl, she knows what she’s doing.” Eren replied confidently with a nod to the shorter male.

Levi nodded and slid into the car silently, taking hold of Eren’s hand again as he drove to drop him off at the house.

“I’ll pick Carla up after work, don’t worry. Have a good day, Corporal.” Eren said to Levi, kissing his lips when he parked in the driveway. Levi still had a bad habit of shutting his feelings away from everyone, but Eren didn’t really mind.

Levi nodded to Eren and kissed him back gently. “I love you.” He said softly before turning and leaving the car.

“I love you too.” Eren called back to him before the door could shut, knowing the other had heard.

Levi smiled inwardly to himself and walked into the house, taking off his shoes and wig almost immediately after the door had shut. He went about the day as he usually did, cleaning the house meticulously and staying at home, paying no mind to those who passed outside the window.

He’d put on a pot of tea when he heard Eren and Carla come back home around three in the afternoon, his lips curling up in a ghost of a smile when he heard their daughter’s small giggles of glee. He quickly put the wig back on, walking out of the kitchen when he knew he looked more like a woman.

“Mama! Look!” Carla said happily, showing him a picture she’d created with her crayons.

“Oh, Carla, that’s lovely. Good job.” Levi said to her, kissing her forehead and giving her a small hug.

“How was your day, honey?” Eren asked as he hung up his coat and took off his shoes, walking over to Levi and moving to kiss him lovingly.

“My day was the same as it always is, only without a certain little girl to play with.” Levi replied to him after kissing him back gently. He then scooped up their little girl and patted her backside as she giggled. “Ah, I missed this little one.”

“Mama! Put me down!” Carla giggled happily, kissing her mother’s cheek before he set her to the ground again to play with her dolls easily.

Eren and Levi drank the tea when it was all brewed and ready, talking softly to each other while keeping an eye on their daughter as she played. They all relaxed together until it came time to make dinner, the family settling on spaghetti when Carla suggested it.

Levi did the family’s cooking easily, setting the table when it came time to do so, then dishing up the food for them all. He sat next to Eren at the table, all of them folding their hands and praying over the food.

They then began to eat together, listening as Carla told them all about her first day at school. She talked about making friends with the other little girls in her class and about her nice teacher and everything they’d done that day to get to know each other.

Eren was glad his daughter had had so much fun at her first day of school and had made so many new friends. He talked about his own day with the other doctors and nurses and the few odd cases that had come in that day.

The night was as pleasant as the day was and soon enough, Levi and Eren were working together to give their small daughter a bath. Levi washed through her hair while Eren washed her small body while the girl sang softly to herself all the while.

The two men then worked together to put her to bed, braiding her hair so it wouldn’t get tangled in the night.

“Good night, baby girl.” Levi said to her, kissing her forehead.

“Have sweet dreams.” Eren cooed to the baby girl, nuzzling into her cheek a bit and making her giggle. He and Levi then turned off the light and walked out of the room, closing the door lightly behind them.

Levi took off his wig and the fake breasts while Eren moved to pour them both a glass of wine. He collapsed down on the couch, coughing a bit as he let his voice finally go back to being low and masculine, having to keep it raised a couple octaves through the day. “Thank you, Eren.”

“Anything for you, Levi.” Eren replied, handing him a glass of wine. He then leaned over and kissed his cheek gently and sweetly. “I love you.”

“I love you too, I guess.”

Eren smiled and drank his wine with Levi before deciding to go to bed with him. They both stripped down into their underwear and climbed into the bed for the night, falling asleep together easily, Eren’s arms wrapped around Levi’s smaller body as he held the other close to himself.

They slept peacefully until they heard a sharp knock at the door at a bit before midnight. Eren sighed and kissed Levi’s head gently. “I’ll see who it is and send them away.”

Levi nodded and couldn’t help but get a bad vibe from it all, quietly slipping on his bathrobe and slipped out of the room and into Carla’s, gently taking the little girl into his arms as he listening to Eren calmly talking to whoever was at the door. The girl woke up in his arms and cuddled into his chest, as the voices got a bit more hostile.

Eren tried his best to stay calm as the officer showed him the search warrant they had to check the house for evidence of what one of their neighbors had claimed was a ‘homosexual relationship’. He nodded and felt his heart stop, knowing they’d find Levi and see he was a male, and he’d find the evidence that he wasn’t an actual woman.

The police officer kept calm. He honestly highly doubted anything homosexual would be going on in that house. They got calls from the woman who’d reported the incident all the time. He knew he had to search every room, though, just in case. So, he went into the master bedroom, finding dresses in the closet and women’s underwear. The only thing out of the ordinary there was the pair of pads used to make breasts appear larger. He figured that was just a cosmetic thing, though, and was none of his business.

In the bathroom, the officer only found more evidence of a grown woman living in the house. An assortment of makeup was on the vanity, along with some curlers. He figured as much, knowing there likely wasn’t anything wrong with the family and the woman who’d called was just as paranoid as ever.

He then found yet another bedroom, the door open a bit to reveal a small adult figure holding a small girl. He moved to open the door a bit more to let himself in, turning on the light and freezing in shock at what he saw.

A small man with dark hair cut short in an undercut was cradling a little girl close to himself and trying to comfort her, stroking her hair. The officer sighed, rubbing his temples. “Please tell me you’re that you’re that girl’s uncle.”

Levi blinked at the question, holding Carla close to his chest, eyeing the locket with a picture of the three of them inside. “I could definitely tell you that, sir…” he said softly.

“You’re not her uncle, are you?”

“I’m afraid not, no.”

The officer sighed and muttered something about how it was too late to be dealing with something like that. He then grabbed his walkie-talkie and told the back up guys outside to come on in.

After that, everything happened way too quickly. Eren ran to where he knew Levi and Carla were when the other officers came into the house, moving to wrap his arms around the pair protectively. That didn’t work too well, though, as he was pulled off easily, his wrists cuffed behind his back.

One of the officers was coming at Levi as the small man held Carla close to himself, trying to pull the girl away from him. Levi was screaming at the top of his lungs angrily in French as they held him back from Carla, the pain evident in his eyes as he knew it would likely be the last time he saw his little girl. One of the officers finally pinned his small body down on the little girl’s bed, cuffing his wrists behind his back.

“Carla, don’t forget us, please. We love you.” Levi said to the little girl as he and Eren were forced out of the house, the little girl in one officer’s arms, her eyes wide with fright.

“I love you, too, Mommy and Daddy.” She replied to them just before they were forced out the door.

Eren was forced into the police car with Levi beside him, the doors shutting them in. He kept close to the other male, seeing the tears rolling down his cheeks as he cried softly. He nuzzled Levi’s cheek gently as they were driven away to the prison together, being thrown into a cell with two other men wordlessly after the handcuffs had been taken off.

Eren and Levi made no conversation with their cellmates as they just stayed together, waiting for their trial. They waited for days until they their trial.

They were marched into the courtroom, both of them now clothed in the gray prison clothes they’d been forced into. The lawyer who’d been appointed to them did rather well, they thought, as he argued that religion shouldn’t have a place in the law whatsoever and if it was, then love should be seen as a gift from God and encouraged. However, that didn’t sway the jury, who all seemed to side with the other lawyer, who argued about how they were a menace to society and shouldn’t be allowed to corrupt anyone anymore. The jury decided that they were guilty of the crime against society and the judge decided that, since prison was meant for reforming people, they would have no use to go there, even if it was for life. So, the sentence was a hanging.

The execution would be held the next day and a grim air floated over the couple as they were marched out of the courtroom and back into the holding cell. Levi kept close to Eren for the last few hours they had together. He looked up at the other man and moved to kiss his lips gently as they sat on the floor together.

“I love you, Levi. Everything’s going to be fine, I promise.” Eren said softly to the other man, stroking his hair.

“I don’t see why I’m always doomed to die young.” Levi said with a sigh, remembering how he’d died in their last lives. It had only taken one second of carelessness and he’d been whipped around by a titan in the Forest of Giant Trees, and then was strangled by the cables of his maneuver gear, his body left to hang there in the branches for his comrades to find.

Eren frowned as he remembered finding his beloved corporal’s body dangling over his and the rest of the squad’s heads as they looked for their leader. The man he’d looked up to and thought of as a hero had died like a human.

He shook the though from his head and hugged Levi close to himself. “At least this time, we’re going out together.”

Levi stayed silent for the rest of the long night, keeping close to Eren and crying softly.

Soon enough, morning came and they were marched to where the two nooses were set up and ready for them. Eren kept his hand around Levi’s tightly, looking over at the man next to him.

“Levi Chevalier and Eren Jaeger. You two are hereby sentenced to death because of your crimes against society. Do you have any last words?” The minister in front of them asked, looking up at the pair.

“Yes.” Levi replied confidently.

Eren looked over at the other man and could swear it wasn’t the small Jew he’d met. Instead, all he saw was his corporal standing there, looking fearless and amazing, even with his small stature.

“I want all of you bastards to know that you can take our lives, but you’re not going to do anything. There are plenty of other men and women who prefer the same sex to the opposite in this world. I still love Eren Jaeger and I will continue to do so in Paradise. You can oppress me all you want. Throw me in a camp; I don’t give a shit. You will never break me.”

Eren smiled widely at Levi, finding himself falling in love with him all over again, just moments from their death.

“I’d like to say something, too.” Eren piped up, looking over at Levi. “Levi, I love you, too. I always have and always will.” He said before pulling the other close and boldly kissing him deeply and lovingly in front of the shocked minister and officers. “I’ll see you on the other side, Levi. You’re going to look so good with wings.” He murmured.

“You will, too.” Levi replied to Eren with a grin, holding his hand tightly as they turned back to the group in front of them.

“May God have mercy on your souls.” The minister said plainly.

The floor fell out from under the two men’s feet and it only took a second or two for their worlds to go black.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it ended on such a dark note. Also, i'm sorry if I emotionally hurt anyone with this. Thank you all for the continued support and everything! -FandomFluid


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